Junior doctors in England have gone on strike for the first day in a three-day walkout. A dispute over pay and conditions has seen more than 36,000 junior doctors across the country take strike action.
The strike comes two days before more trade unions stage industrial action. Teachers, civil servants, London Underground drivers and others will walk out on Wednesday (March 15), the day Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is due to deliver his Spring Budget in the House of Commons.
The British Medical Association (BMA) says that years of below-inflation pay rises have amounted to a big real-terms cut since 2009. The government has so far refused to negotiate further on pay, but is under growing pressure to reconsider its stance.
